Founder
Beno Udrih is now on the New York Knicks, as he will likely serve as a replacement for Jason Kidd at the point guard position.
Udrih will likely come off the bench for the Knicks, but the team's second-unit already looks loaded as it includes guys like J.R. Smith and Metta World Peace on there.
Udrih spoke with ESPN New York following his deal with the Knicks, and says that this team can compete for a run at an NBA title next season.
"I'm very happy to be back on a playoff team and we definitely can make a run for a title."
Udrih knows what it takes to be a champion. He joined the NBA in 2004, being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs as the 28th overall pick. In his rookie year, he averaged about six points and two assists per game.
Udrih even won a ring riding San Antonio's coattails to beat the Detroit Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals. Udrih won his second ring two years later in the 2007 Finals over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sweep.
Udrih, now 31, spoke on what it takes to be a champion in the NBA.
"What it takes is just to be a team and to definitely have good players. There has to be chemistry and everything has to be right. That's how it was in San Antonio basically. Tim Duncan didn't care who scored the most points. He's a Hall of Famer, but he was more about the team. He just wanted us to win.
"Sometimes he scored 30, and the next day he scored 10, but he still was very, very productive in rebounding. Everybody has to work for each other, especially on the defensive end. I think we have enough scorers on our team now, but we definitely got to step up and basically defend first and then rebound the ball."
Udrih went on to play for the Sacramento Kings, where he ended up putting his best numbers on paper. His best year came in the 2010-11 season when he averaged around 14 points and five assists per game. However, there was no winning in that process.
That continued after Sactown, where he played with the Milwaukee Bucks for two years and then the Orlando Magic just this past season, where he averaged eight points and five assists per game.
Udrih is already excited of his new team in New York now, where he has another chance to win a championship finally after six years.
"I didn't think of that yet. It still hasn't hit me, but I'm really, really excited to be here," Udrih said when asked of envisioning himself in Madison Square Garden for the first time. "The fans are basically the best. What I like about the Knicks fans is every time I was playing against the Knicks, they actually know basketball.
"You have some fans around the league that just like the show, but they don't know really basketball inside out. And I think New York fans actually really look into the details of basketball, so they know basketball inside out. That's the kind of feeling I get from the fans."
Udrih has averaged about nine points and four assists per game for his eight-year career so far.
